REFILE-Samsung takes aim at Japanese rivals with Android camera

SEOUL Nov 29 (Reuters) - South Korean consumer electronics
giant Samsung Electronics Co is taking aim at its
Japanese rivals with an Android-powered digital camera that
allows users to swiftly and wirelessly upload pictures to social
networking sites.

The Galaxy camera lets users connect to a mobile network or
Wi-Fi to share photographs and video without having to hook up
the camera to a computer.

While it's not the first to the market, Samsung's financial
and marketing clout suggest it could be the biggest threat to
Japanese domination of a digital camera industry which research
firm Lucintel sees growing to $46 billion by 2017 and where big
brands include Canon Inc, Sony Corp, Panasonic
Corp, Nikon Corp and Olympus Corp.

"Samsung has a tough row to hoe against the likes of Canon
and Nikon in the camera brand equity landscape," said Liz
Cutting, senior imaging analyst at research firm NPD Group. "Yet
as a brand known more in the connected electronic device arena,
Samsung has a unique opportunity to transfer strength from
adjacent categories into the dedicated camera world."

The Korean group, battling for mobile gadget supremacy
against Apple Inc, is already a global market leader in
televisions, smartphones and memory chips.

Samsung last year brought its camera and digital imaging
business - one of its smallest - under the supervision of JK
Shin, who heads a mobile business that generated 70 percent of
Samsung's $7.4 billion third-quarter profit.

"Our camera business is quickly evolving ... and I think it
will be able to set a new landmark for Samsung," Shin said on
Thursday at a launch event in Seoul. "The product will open a
new chapter in communications - visual communications," he said,
noting good reviews for the Samsung Galaxy camera which went on
sale in Europe and the United States earlier this month.

AIMING AT 'PRO-SUMERS'

The Galaxy camera, which sells in the United States for
$499.99 through AT&T with various monthly data plans,
features a 4.8-inch (12.2 cm) LCD touchscreen and a 21x optical
zoom lens. Users can send photos instantly to other mobile
devices via a 4G network, access the Internet, email and social
network sites, edit photos and play games.

The easy-to-use camera, and the quality of the pictures, is
aimed at mid-market 'pro-sumers' - not quite professional
photographers but those who don't mind paying a premium for user
options not yet available on a smartphone - such as an optical,
rather than digital, zoom, better flash, and image
stabilisation.

The appeal of high picture quality cameras with wireless
connection has grown as social media services such as Facebook
Inc drive a boom in rapid shoot-and-share photos.

"At a price point higher than some entry-level
interchangeable-lens cameras, the Galaxy camera should appeal to
a consumer willing to pay an initial and ongoing premium for
24/7 creative interactivity," said Cutting.

Traditional digital camera makers are responding.

Canon, considered a leader in profitability in corporate
Japan with its aggressive cost cutting, saw its compact camera
sales eroded in the most recent quarter by smartphones, and has
just introduced its first mirrorless camera to tap into a
growing market for small, interchangeable-lens cameras that
rival Nikon entered last year.

Nikon has also recently introduced an Android-embedded
Wi-Fi only camera.